Due to economic activities based on mass consumption and mass disposal, there are global environmental problems such as global warming or resource depletion.
Under the circumstances, aiming at structuring the resource recycling-based society, The Home Appliance Recycling Law has been in effect since April 2001 in Japan. Under The Home Appliance Recycling Law, it is mandatory to recycle used home appliances (air conditioners, television sets, refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, cloth driers and the like).
Therefore, used home appliances are crushed, and thereafter selectively separated and collected for each material using magnetism, wind power, vibration, or the like at home appliance recycling factories, and recycled as recycled materials.
Further, “Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS directive, for short)” which has been in effect since July 2006 by the European Union (EU) restricts use of polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) for home appliances.
Some types of resin used for home appliances contain a bromine compound such as PBB, PBDE, or the like as a flame retardant order to possess flame retardancy.
Products using resin containing such compounds as a recycled material are restricted under the RoHS directive.
Further, in some cases, bromine compounds other than PEE or PBDE are also added to resin as a flame retardant. In the following, any bromine compound such as PBB or PBDE added as a flame retardant will be referred to as a brominated flame retardant.
Though there are some brominated flame retardants not restricted under the RoHS directive, from the viewpoint of environmental protection, it is preferable that resin as a recycled material does not contain any brominated flame retardant.
Accordingly, it has been necessary to determine whether or not the resin being a recycled material contains a brominated flame retardant.
Conventionally, as a method for detecting a brominated flame retardant contained in resin being a recycled material, Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometric method (FT-IR), which is disclosed by Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-283336, for example, is used.
FIG. 11 shows a brominated flame retardant determining apparatus 100 that uses the conventional FT-IR. A measurement data storage unit 102 is to store absorption spectra of mid infrared light (wavelength band 2.5 to 25 μm, wave number range 400 to 4000 cm−1) obtained by a measuring apparatus 101. A reference data storage unit 103 is to store previously obtained reference data. A peak detecting unit 104 is to read a measured absorption spectrum from the measurement data storage unit 102, and detect the peak thereof based on a prescribed reference, to obtain the wave number and intensity thereof. A reference data acquiring unit 105 is to acquire reference data pieces in a prescribed order according to the control exerted by a control unit 106. A determining unit 107 is to compare the acquired measured data and the reference data against each other to determine whether or not a determination target object contains a brominated flame retardant. An input unit 108 is to receive measurement conditions, analysis conditions, and the like from the user.
The brominated flame retardant determining apparatus 100 using the conventional FT-IR analyzes the absorption spectrum of the mid infrared light of the transmitted light or reflected light from the resin, to thereby determine whether or not a brominated flame retardant is contained in the resin.